


The Kids Aren't Alright

by downeylove



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Iron Family, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Tony Stark is Peter Parker's dad, iron dad & spider son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 00:21:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18354746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/downeylove/pseuds/downeylove
Summary: After Tony returns from Titan, he does everything he can to see his family again.





	The Kids Aren't Alright

**Author's Note:**

> Look.. this is based on a dream I had. And I wasn't pleased.

His body is relaxed for once, his sleep untainted by nightmares. It’s uncommon, but it’s a change that’s more than welcome.

Pepper is at his side, curled against him with her nose pressed into his neck and her hand in a fist clutching his shirt. The room is pitch black, though it could be any hour of the day and they wouldn’t even know it because of the advanced blackout system throughout the house.

The soft sound of bare feet approaches slowly, shuffling across the sleek marble floors. Morgan sneaks up to the bed cautiously and struggles to climb onto it without creating too much of a racket. When she finally rolls onto it, she forces herself between her sleeping parents and they instantly maneuver themselves to accommodate her as all good parents do.

“Daddy,” she whispers, Pepper’s hand moving to rub her back.

“Hm?” His eyes flutter open, unsure if he was really asleep to begin with. “What is it, Peanut?”

“It’s time to get up, daddy.” She snuggles closer to him.

“Is it?” He mutters, closing his eyes again and drawing her and Pepper in.

“Uh huh, you said we could play in the lab today.” She giggles, and it’s a sound that makes Tony’s heart ache. A melodious, wonderful sound that he’ll never tire of hearing.

“I did say that, didn’t I?”

“Yeah.” Morgan curls into him and yawns. “And you said Petey was gonna play too.”

“Oh yeah.” Tony holds onto her tightly as he rests his cheek against her dark, nearly black hair. “Should we make breakfast for him and mommy?”

“Uh huh, French toast,” she suggests helpfully.

“Good idea.” Tony yawns.

After they lie there for several more minutes, Morgan gets restless and slides out of her father’s grasp. She slips onto the floor and tugs on his hand. “Daddy,” she whines.

“Okay, okay.” He sits up slowly, taking stock of the aching joints and muscles. Once he’s up, he lifts her into his arms and carries her away from the bedroom and down to the kitchen with her head resting on his shoulder.

He sets her onto the counter and starts pulling out the necessary ingredients for French toast, along with some eggs and bacon to go with it. Morgan swings her feet as she watches him.

He prepares the batter for the French toast and sets the bowl down in front of her. Tony hands her the bread and she gets to work. She dips each slice of bread in the batter, thoroughly soaking it and setting them onto the skillet while Tony flips them and stacks them on a plate as they finish.

“You’re really good at that,” he comments.

“I know.”

Tony laughs and leans over to kiss the top of her head. “Humble.”

She sets the last piece of bread onto the skillet and waits until it’s completely done before lifting her arms up for him to carry her. He takes her over to the sink and lets her wash her hands. After he sets her down, he returns to the stove and starts on the eggs and bacon.

“Good morning, Mr. Stark!” Peter announces.

Tony nearly flies through the ceiling. “Jesus, kid. I oughta put a bell on you. You’re too sneaky.”

“Petey!” Morgan squeals, running over to him and throwing herself at him. He catches her with ease and spins her around to her delight.

“Hey, munchkin.” Peter holds onto her tightly and carries her over to Tony.

“How you holdin’ up?” Tony asks. He pushes the rapidly cooking eggs around in the skillet as the bacon crackles and sizzles next to them.

“I’m good! Excited to hang out with this little monster.” Peter begins tickling Morgan and she screeches with laughter, squirming in his arms.

Tony isn’t worried about him dropping her. Peter has always been an attentive, careful, and vigilant big brother. He laughs as Peter holds Morgan up and jogs around the room with her as though she’s flying in her very own suit of armor.

“Careful,” Tony cautions anyway, still chuckling under his breath.

When he feels soft hands on his lower back, he leans into them. “Smells good.” Pepper stands on her toes to kiss the base of his neck.

“Morning.” Tony turns around and leans down to give her a kiss. “The kids didn’t wake you, did they?”

Pepper shakes her head and allows him to gather her in his arms. She rests her head against his shoulder. “No, I woke up when she forced herself between us.”

“Ah.” He runs a finger along her jaw to bring their lips together again. “She _really_ wants to play in the lab today,” Tony mumbles.

“Mhm,” she hums.

When the eggs begin to burn, Tony reluctantly pries himself away from her and scoops the eggs onto a plate, along with the bacon. He shuts the stove off and turns back to her again. This time their kiss is longer and the distant sounds of Peter and Morgan’s laughter allows him to indulge in her lips.

The kiss ends naturally a few moments later and the smile on her face is radiant and glowing. There’s something in her sparkling blue eyes that has him tilting his head at her curiously, his lips curving into a growing smile.

“What?”

Biting her lip to stifle her smile, she takes one of his hands from her waist and moves it around to rest over her stomach. His eyes widen, and a broad grin spreads across his face. Tony loops his arms around her tightly and gives her a firm kiss.

“Are you serious?”

“Doctor confirmed it yesterday,” she mumbles into his lips. Her fingers thread into his thick hair as she stands on her toes to reach him. He sways slightly with her, keeping her tucked against him as his euphoria soars to heights he’d never imagined.

“I love you,” Tony sighs as they break away.

“You’re responsible for this too, you know,” she laughs harmoniously.

“Yeah, but you have to do all the work. I was only slightly involved,” he argues.

“I’m glad you recognize my contribution.”

Peter and Morgan return to the kitchen, Peter panting and holding her upside down as she giggles with delight. “Hi, Pepper!”

She turns in Tony’s arms and leans against him. “Good morning, Peter,” she greets cheerfully. “Looks like you’re gonna wear her out before you even get into the lab.”

Peter sets her down and Morgan runs to her parents. Pepper lifts her up and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

“You having fun with Petey?”

Morgan nods. “He makes me fly like Daddy.” Tony kisses Morgan’s cheek, prompting her to squeal, “Daddy, that tickles!”

He kisses her again and she tries to squirm away from him, but he and Pepper have always been an excellent team and she holds Morgan in place as he torments her with kisses.

When she’s breathless and red in the face from laughing, Tony laughs softly and nods to Peter. “Help me set the table?”

“Sure.” Peter springs to his side and grabs some plates from the cabinet while Tony retrieves drinks for everyone. Peter helps carry them over and Pepper sits next to Tony with Morgan in her lap while they wait. Once Peter and Tony bring the food over, Tony starts dishing it out onto each of their plates.

As soon as everyone’s plate is full, Tony sits next to his wife and leans over to give her a kiss. Peter smiles over at them and piles an extra few pieces of French toast onto his plate before digging in.

Their breakfast is filled with serene laughter and Tony doesn’t stop smiling once, surrounded by the people he loves most in the world. When they’ve cleared their plates and Pepper takes Morgan up to get her dressed and ready for their lab playdate, he and Peter clear off the table and get to work on the dishes.

“So, Pepper’s pregnant?” Peter says slowly, handing Tony the glasses they’d been drinking from.

Tony shakes his head and laughs. “You and your super hearing. Yeah, she is.”

Peter beams. He moves around to the other side to start drying the dishes and putting them away. “Are you excited?”

“Of course I am.” Tony hands Peter a plate. “Maybe you’ll have a little brother this time around.”

Peter’s cheeks flush and he nearly drops the plate.

“What? You don’t want a little brother?”

“No! It’s not that, I–I just–”

“Did you think I didn’t consider you my own kid or something?”

Judging by Peter’s silence, Tony’s spot on.

He shuts off the water and props a hip against the counter, arms crossed. “Pete, I may not have said it before, but I do.”

Peter looks down at his feet, toeing a spot on the tile floor with his worn and faded Chuck Taylors.

“You’ve been like a son to me for a while now.” Tony’s voice softens and he reaches over to nudge Peter’s shoulder. “Do you not want me to think of you that way?”

Peter’s head snaps up quickly and he stammers, “What– no!”

“Then what’s wrong?”

He sighs and clutches the drying towel in a firm, white-knuckled grip, “Y– You’ve never said it out loud.”

Tony smiles fondly at Peter before pulling him into a firm hug, hand resting on the back of his neck. “I’d adopt you if May didn’t already have exclusive parenting rights.”

He huffs out a quiet laugh and hugs Tony back firmly. “Yeah, she’s pretty defensive.”

“Wouldn’t wanna get on her bad side by taking her kid away, but at least she shares.” Tony rubs Peter’s back gently before pulling away.

The sound of Morgan’s laughter grows closer and she runs into the kitchen with Pepper following close behind. Morgan springs into Tony’s arms and he catches her with ease. “Hey, Peanut.”

“Hi, daddy.” She rests her head on his shoulder as Pepper comes up behind her and pokes her tummy. Morgan squirms and giggles.

“Be careful playing in the lab,” Pepper warns, leaning up to give Tony a kiss, and another to Morgan.

“We’re always careful, isn’t that right, Peter?”

“Always–”

The scene dissolves slowly, frozen on his family’s smiling faces as they fade away. Tony is quiet for several long moments before he turns to look at Rhodey standing in the doorway.

“How long have you been there?” Tony mutters solemnly.

“Too long,” Rhodey answers.

Silent tears wet Tony’s cheeks and he rests his forehead against his fist without another word. He isn’t silent for long, however, as a grief stricken sob tears through his chest. His shoulders begin to tremble and Rhodey flocks to his side.

“Tony.” He clutches his shoulder firmly, but words are lost on him. What’s he supposed to say? This isn’t a situation he typically finds himself in.

Only Tony Stark would be able to fabricate the people he lost in such crisp detail. His technology has always been a blessing and a curse. It allows him to do and see many things. Incredible things. Terrible things. It allowed him to see Peter again. And Pepper. And the life they never got to live together. The child they never got to have together.

When Tony returned from space, he’d been muttering about ‘losing the kid’. And it was Rhodey who had to tell him that Pepper hadn’t made it either. It wasn’t long after that, that Tony recoiled so far into himself that Rhodey knew he was gone. The grief had overcome him completely.

The _guilt_.

He was guilty of nothing, of course. Except, perhaps, for trying too hard. But, Rhodey is sure that had Tony known his journey into space would end in failure, he never would have left Pepper to begin with. He supposes the results still would have been the same had he not tried at all. But _not_ trying isn’t in Tony’s repertoire. He simply can’t sit idly by and wait for destruction to befall the universe.

“You shouldn’t be doing this to yourself, Tony,” Rhodey all but pleads.

Tony’s shoulders continue to shake and through his tears, he gasps, “It’s the only way I get to see them.”

Rhodey hauls Tony up by his shirt and pulls him into a suffocating hug. He’s stiff for a moment before melting into Rhodey and holding onto him for dear life. His sobs only get louder and more relentless and Rhodey doesn’t know what to do to help him.

There’s nothing he _can_ do. They’re all gone. Every last one of them.

“We’ll get them back.” Rhodey’s voice cracks.

There’s no guarantee of anything at this point. He can’t promise a damn thing. But he has to try. He can’t watch Tony waste away, longing for his family to return and creating a virtual future that was ripped away from him so suddenly and so permanently.

When Tony starts to free himself from Rhodey’s solid grasp, Rhodey tightens his grip. “We’ll get them back. Do you hear me?”

Tony nods, but Rhodey can tell that the gesture is empty and hopeless.

But he means it. He’d do anything for his best friend, the man who’s done everything for him. Because no one, least of all Tony Stark, deserves to have everyone they hold dear taken from them.


End file.
